The Safety Net
by LostInFictionalWorlds
Summary: Kurt and Blaine go back to Ohio for the first time since making their relationship official. They get to know how Burt really feels about it plus some of their old school friends. This is from the 'Let me catch you (when you fall) verse which is canon up until when Kurt leaves Dalton to go back to Mckinley—only they never realized their feelings for each other first.
1. Chapter 1

**The safety net**

 **This is from the 'Let me catch you (when you fall) verse which is canon up until when Kurt leaves Dalton to go back to Mckinley—only they never realized their feelings for each other first.**

 **LSKlaineGleek said "Would love to see them telling Burt that they're together (and he of course is like "Finally!") and their friends - maybe one of their friends isn't totally on board with it? How about someone from one of their dating past makes an appearance? Jealousy issues? Trust reassured? Definitely more fluff and dates. Thanks!"**

 **This is going to be in two parts, I really hope you enjoy it—I'm so sorry it took so long to get out but I'm so glad you prompted me.**

"And Burt-um I mean your dad is cool with me staying with you guys, right?" Blaine mumbles, fidgeting with the buckle of his seatbelt.

Beside him, Kurt chuckles and settles back against his headrest. The flight is well on its way towards Ohio now and it's obvious that a very twitchy Blaine has had something on his mind ever since take-off.

Now is obviously the time for it all to come out.

"Blaine, how many times do we need to go over this?" Kurt laughs a little exasperatedly as he turns in his seat towards him. "Yes, he's fine. _More_ than fine. I think he's genuinely really happy that we're together, he told me it was a long time coming, and remember that _he_ invited _us_ for the weekend. "

Blaine blushes and takes Kurt's hand, pulling it over into his lap between both of his hands. "Okay, okay I know. Sorry. I'm just nervous."

Kurt pouts at him and rubs a finger along the bone of his wrist. It's true, they've had many conversations of this nature since Kurt called his dad to excitedly tell him about he and Blaine's new, official relationship, and Burt insisted that the two of them to visit as soon as possible.

And Kurt completely understands why Blaine may be nervous. Burt is Kurt's father—the guy who a very adolescent and maybe a little too obnoxious Blaine approached about Kurt's sex life once upon a time. And Blaine is the idiot who Burt found in Kurt's bed one morning, truly hung-over and disrupted their father-son baking time.

There's history there for sure, and although Burt never gave off any vibes that he disliked Blaine, Blaine can't help but think that Burt only sees him as the kid that lead his son on, teased and flirted with his heart and then just disappeared.

Blaine's just 'the old high school friend'—only, they never really were _just_ friends at all, and how neither of them admitted it or anybody pointed it out to them is beyond anyone's belief.

"I can hear you thinking, you know. I can actually hear you _over-thinking_." Kurt whispers, leaning over the armrest to get a good look at Blaine's face. "We promised each other we wouldn't dwell on the past. That was then and this is now—new and important. We were just kids then, we can't blame ourselves for that."

Blaine nods at Kurt's words, takes a deep steadying breath and then turns and pecks Kurt on the cheek.

"I hear you, I'm sorry." Kurt smiles and Blaine grins back at him sheepishly.

A member of the cabin crew rolls a cart down the aisle and hands them both their rum and cokes that they ordered earlier. They clink their glasses together and take a careful sip.

"Ok but um, what about sleeping arrangements?" Blaine says once he's put his glass down in its spot on the pull-down tray.

Kurt does the same and looks at him oddly. Blaine's eyes twinkle with mischief, his lips quirking up into a cheeky grin as he says "you know that I find it difficult to keep my hands off of you, and I don't know how I'd cope if I was booted off down the hall in the guest bedroom all weekend."

Kurt's thankful that he's already swallowed his sip when he barks out a laugh of pure undiluted, unabashed happiness. "We're both grownups, dear—Dad knows that. Plus, he totally knows that we hooked up that night when we met up for drinks and well- you know."

Blaine's mouth falls open. "He does?"

"Well, yeah. Especially considering that I didn't go home that night…and got home the next morning with a hangover…and a limp."

Blaine smiles, the kind that reaches his eyes and Kurt settles back into his seat, satisfied that Blaine is relaxed for the rest of the duration of the flight.

"Finally!" Is the first word that Burt Hummel says—practically yells— once Kurt and Blaine make their way out of the terminal and towards the pick up area where a bunch of cars are parked.

Burt leans against the hood of his truck, arms folded over his chest. He's dressed in the same type of jeans, flannel shirt and an old cap that Blaine remembers him wearing all those years ago when Blaine and Kurt were in red piped navy blazers and gray slacks.

"I know, sorry, dad. Baggage claim was a nightmare." Kurt says, tugging a holdall with wheels behind him towards the trunk.

Burt stands upright, unfolds his arms and gives Kurt an incredulous smile. "No, not that," he laughs pulling Kurt into a tight hug before letting go. He turns toward Blaine who is currently standing clutching on to the handle of his mini suitcase like a lifeline, a perfected 'deer caught in headlights' look on his face.

Burt approaches Blaine, his mouth a tight line, hands balled into fists at his sides—and reaches out and hugs him closely. "I mean _this_ ," Burt exclaims in a happy booming voice, patting Blaine on the back for good measure. "Blaine Anderson. You guys finally got your heads together and now your hearts. Nice to see you again, bud." Burt whispers, pulling back with a grin and Blaine could swear that something flew into his eye right then, causing him to tear up.

"Nice to see you too, Burt" Blaine croaks followed by a throat clearing cough, "thank you. So much."

"I'm glad you remembered to drop the 'sir' act" Burt tells him with a wink as he grabs Blaine's suitcase and lifts it into the trunk of his truck.

He takes Kurt's luggage next and does the same before sliding into the front of the cab to start up the engine.

Kurt grabs Blaine's hand, tugging him forward softly. "See? Told you" he whispers against Blaine's temple before kissing him there and then opening up the rear passenger door for them both to get inside. "This weekend's going to be so great."

"Welcome home" Burt announces, as he opens the front door with a jangle of keys and steps inside. Blaine knows he's talking to Kurt but he still blushes when Burt makes eye contact with him and gives him a nod and a wink.

Memories flood back to Blaine in an instant, just from standing in the hallway of a place he used to come to so regularly— a place he used to love coming to. Somewhere he could escape to and while there just be himself and not just the preppy, blazer-ed young gentleman he was trained to be.

In the Hummel-Hudson household, back in the day, Blaine felt calmed and comforted by the way of Kurt's cookies, his eyes, and his laugh. The way they sang together. Burt's approving smile when he'd return home from work to find them doing homework at the kitchen table, pressed up together taking sneak peaks of the other's book or paper. Sundays spent baking and cooking, lounging around and grazing on what they'd made. Movie nights, trips to the theater and hours spent bickering over what part was the best. Coin flips to decide whose iPod to plug in, magazine browsing and cut-outs for their inspiration boards. The kindness of Carole's eyes and her smile. How she adored Blaine, all of her boys for that matter.

"Carole will be home in a bit." Burt says, breaking Blaine's reverie, like he just _knows. "_ She can't wait to see you again, Blaine." He adds brushing past both Blaine and Kurt to get to his chair.

Blaine clenches his eyes closed and bites his lip. "How-how is she?" He asks, so quietly that Burt almost misses it. Beside him he can hear Kurt suck in a deep breath and suddenly their hands are entwined.

Blaine knows what happened to Finn—Kurt's step-brother, and Carole's only son, before Kurt. They've talked about it in a lot of detail since making their relationship official, and a lot of time has passed that the family have been able to make some peace with it. Not enough, though. Never enough.

But being here in the house where he lived—where Blaine and Finn would play Guitar Hero while waiting for Kurt to finished getting ready, or scoffing down the too hot cookies fresh from the oven followed by a gallon of milk— the feeling and memories are too real, too raw.

Burt looks over his shoulder at him and smiles gently "she's the best that she can be, bud. We all are." He tells him, "like I said, she can't wait to see you. And we're both thrilled to have you here. This time as something more than Kurt's friend."

Burt settles down in his chair and flicks on the TV with the remote—the sounds of cheers and hollers and an excited commentator fills the room and Blaine is transported back in time once again to watching the sports channel with Burt, being invited round for special games and how Kurt would sit and smirk at them from behind an issue of Vogue. How Burt would absentmindedly call him 'son'.

"Hey, you coming?" This time it's Kurt voice that pulls Blaine back to the present. His hand squeezes Blaine's, it feels warm and sure and reassuring and Blaine turns to him with a smile and shining eyes and says "Yeah. Yes of course."

They take their luggage upstairs and freshen up before dinner. Carole apparently has something special planned for their 'Friday family night dinner reunion' and Kurt is whipping up something spectacular for desert.

After pressing Blaine back into the pillows of his old childhood bed with a few searing kisses, Kurt leaves him breathless with one last wink before heading downstairs to get started on his dish.

Blaine leans back against the headboard, breathless and hardly sated but boneless—happy and complete. This is what it feels like to finally loose yourself to somebody else, to be so content and relaxed. To be _home_.

He smiles to himself, staring up at the ceiling. This is where they started and this is where their future is going to begin.

 **A/N- Thanks for reading. Reviews are always appreciated. The second part shouldn't be too long.**


	2. Chapter 2

**The safety net part 2**

On Saturday, Blaine goes to check in on the tenants who are subletting his apartment he owns (a 21st birthday gift from his parents), and Kurt goes to lunch with Tina—an old high school friend and fellow glee club member.

"I was so surprised but happy you called, Kurt. Oh my god, Hi!" Tina shrieks excitedly when she's shown to the table where Kurt is already seated, waiting for her. He stands to pull her into a quick hug, smiling happily to see another friendly, familiar face.

Tina looks just the same—hasn't aged much at all—with her long dark hair highlighted at the tips trailing down her back, her pretty face and brown eyes left natural with hardly any makeup, and she's wearing an A-Line dress that hugs her figure well. She's turned out successful too—just as Kurt had thought she would—a vet with her own practise, and with her kind heart and gentle nature as well as her ruthless work ethic and mindset, Kurt can't say he's surprised.

After fetching their drinks, their waitress takes their orders and as soon as she's out of ear shot Tina gets down to business—just like good, old, would do anything for some gossip Tina.

"So, Kurt, what's the scoop? I just _know_ you have a new man in your life—your Facebook posts are all romantic-esque and your Instagram pics are all blurred and sepia toned like on old 50's love story." Her face is serious, arms folded against the table, eyes soft and sparkling with interest.

Kurt smiles, they haven't officialised their relationship on any social networking sites yet, but he and Blaine had spoken about this weekend and how if they seen anybody they knew, they would tell them.

He picks at his napkin and takes a small, quick breath. Now is the time to admit, now is the time to be brave and be happy and boast about the love that he now has. The love that he has always wanted.

"You remember Blaine?" He starts tentatively, "Blaine Anderson. He was a warbler from Dalton—"

"Academy. That prep school you transferred to for a short while?" Tina finishes for him. Her eyebrows have shot up to her hairline and her jaw is practically lying on the table beside her soda glass. "Blaine, with the dark hair and bright, shining eyes who sings like a dream and dances like a boy band front man? That Blaine?"

Kurt stares at her incredulously. He remembers Tina grinning at him from the audience when he performed with The Warblers at Sectionals—maybe she actually wasn't grinning at _him_. "Um, that sounds like the one. I guess you do remember him?"

Tina leans back in her seat and squares her shoulders. "You-you're dating? Like actually dating?" she asks, her tone clipped even though Kurt can tell she's trying to keep her voice soft and steady.

He quirks an eyebrow at her. "Is that a problem?"

Tina had a couple boyfriends in high school, one of which was a long term love which sadly ended due to long distance issues when he graduated and she was still a year behind. Kurt remembers Tina's hopeless crushes, her half-hearted flirting attempts and her deep-rooted notion for romance. He doesn't find it hard to believe that Tina had or has a crush on Blaine—he did for many years so he can't blame others for the same thing—what he finds difficult is the tone of jealousy and disbelief in Tina's voice.

Tina shakes her head and seems to collect her thoughts before regaining her steely composure. "No-no it's just that I knew that you were crazy about him when you were at Dalton but when you left I just assumed that—"

"You assumed what, Tina?" Kurt asks, indignation starting to softly boil up inside of him.

"I-I just assumed that you missed your chance, you know?"

"And you think you have or had a chance? He's gay, Tina. My god, this is like the whole Rachel Berry turning Blaine straight thing all over again."

Why can't people just understand that Blaine was always so supposed to be _his_.

Tina straightens in her seat, looking slightly mortified. "Kurt, I-I just thought that—"

"You thought what, Tina? That I wasn't good enough? That Blaine would never want to date me just because we never made it in high school? Love goes beyond high school, Tina. Of all people you should know that."

A flash of hurt appears on Tina's face, she blinks her eyes closed and when she opens them they're welled with unshed tears. Kurt blanks before his face goes soft, he reaches across the table between them and thankfully Tina puts her hand in his.

"I'm so sorry, Tina. I didn't mean- I don't know what I meant but I didn't mean to hurt you."

"Hey" Tina sniffles, managing a small smile as she squeezes his hand in hers. "It's ok. I'm sorry too. You're defensive I get it. You have every right to be. I shouldn't have acted that way—I didn't create the 'too young to be bitter' club for no reason." They both laugh and Tina dabs at her smudged mascara with a napkin. "I really am so happy for you, for both of you. God knows you deserve it, Kurt. It's about time."

The waitress brings their food and just as Kurt picks up a French-fry to dip into some mayonnaise, he looks at Tina, a twinkle in his eye and says "You know, Blaine's boss—the principle of the school he works at—is pretty handsome. He's in his mid-thirties, obviously single with no baggage…loves animals…"

Tina giggles "Kurt, I live here. My work is crazy. I can't remember the last time I visited New York."

Kurt smirks, "well, let's get you a plane ticket and remedy that immediately." And the rest of their lunch date goes wonderfully.

Blaine suggests that they meet for coffee after Kurt has finished with Tina, before they head back for take-out and game night with Burt and Carole. They pick The Lima Bean —obviously— it's a cute, novel idea and surely nostalgic and Kurt thrills at the idea.

By the time Kurt parks up his dad's truck in an available space outside The Lima Bean, it's just passed 3pm and he's late. He knows Blaine will have his order ready and waiting for him —and a plate of biscotti to share no doubt— and rushes out of the car towards the main entrance and through the front door.

What Kurt sees as he stands in the entrance way looking around the tables for somebody who resembles his boyfriend—is certainly not what he had expected to see.

Blaine is sitting at a two seated table in the back near the window. Kurt spots him easily with his dark hair, free of gel, curling up this way and that and to the sides, and his new Brook's Brothers shirt dressed down with a fabric blazer and jeans.

There are two cups of coffee on the table in front of him just as Kurt had predicted, only the chair opposite him is not vacant waiting for Kurt's arrival.

Sitting opposite Blaine, is a tall man, lean with light brown hair swept upwards—much like Kurt's. He looks to be around the same age as Blaine and has bright eyes and a rather dazzling if —not a little alarming— smile.

He's talking to Blaine rather animatedly and Blaine is nodding and smiling back at him. Before Kurt can contemplate his next move his feet are already carrying him forward towards the table.

"Honey, hi" Kurt calls a little too optimistically just as reaches the table. He places a hand on Blaine's shoulder as Blaine turns in his seat to look at him.

"Hey, sweetheart" Blaine says, smiling brightly, eyes shining—just as they always are whenever he looks at Kurt. "I've been waiting for—"

"Yeah, sorry, sweetie. Got caught up." Kurt interrupts, his eyes automatically darting towards the stranger who is occupying his seat. "Who's this?" He asks, a hand already extended out in curious anticipation. He's trying his utmost hardest to keep his voice calm and gentle but he can't help the uncomfortable, nagging feeling he has pulling at him from inside out.

It feels something a lot like jealousy, and Kurt hates that he feels that way but he can't help it. He's protective and possessive over what's his and Blaine is _his._ He's not available, not anymore, not for anybody but Kurt.

Blaine smiles at him knowingly, their eyes meet and a sudden feeling of reassurance washes over Kurt. "Kurt, this is Sebastian. Sebastian, this is my boyfriend, Kurt."

 _Sebastian_ finally shakes hands with Kurt and before he can say anything Blaine is up and out of his seat, scooting it towards Kurt and already pulling over a new one for himself from a nearby empty table. "Kurt, Sebastian used to be a Warbler too. He came to Dalton the term after you transferred back to McKinley." Blaine tells him.

He's placed his chair rather close to Kurt's so that it's not too obvious when he slides his hand into Kurt's lap and squeezes his knee under the table. Sebastian's eyes drop down to watch the tender gesture before rolling back up to look at Kurt with a smirk.

"What a shame we missed each other, Kurt." Sebastian drawls.

"A travesty." Kurt answers, his tone low and sarcastic to match Sebastian's.

Sebastian picks up the other coffee cup which isn't Blaine's and lifts it to his mouth. Kurt's mouth twists, his eyes narrowing.

Blaine notices this and is quick to say, "I waited at the counter for you, honey but I didn't get you one because I didn't want it to get cold. I bought mine, brought it to a table and that's when Sebastian noticed me and joined me with his own coffee. That he bought. On his own."

Kurt's chest warms and he gives Blaine a small, sweet smile. Still to this day, one of them always zigs when the other expects them to zag, and Kurt just loves that about them.

This relationship is Kurt's shelter. Blaine is his safety net. This is their new beginning and their happy ending all rolled into one. Every problem, every bad or negative thought they ever shared have all been ironed out and shelved away. There shouldn't be any trust issues between them now but even if there are hints towards any—they know how to deal with them. They're in this together now, for the long haul.

Blaine stands, his chair scraping against the hardwood floor as it pushes back. He holds a hand out for Kurt and nods at Sebastian politely as Kurt stands with him ready to leave. "Well it was good to see you again, Sebastian, but if you would please excuse us, I promised my boyfriend a coffee date, so—"

Sebastian frowns, "oh well if you're going back up, I'd love a refill—"

Kurt sees the annoyed look on Blaine's face and decides to deal with this himself. They're in this _together._

He fishes out an old crumpled $5 bill from his back pocket and drops it to the table beside Sebastian's cup, loving the irritated look on Sebastian's face as he looks up at them. "It's on me. It was so, _so_ interesting to meet you, Sebastian. Please do enjoy your coffee. Goodbye."

And before anything else can be said Kurt walks away from the table with Blaine's hand firmly in his.

"We could skip coffee" Blaine whispers into Kurt's ear, leaning in close. "I think I heard your dad say he wouldn't be home from the shop until after 6 and Carole has her—"

"Book club at the neighbours. We have time…and an empty house. I hear ya." Kurt says, grinning as they wind their way through the tables towards the door.

Towards years to come of more dates and reassurance and most importantly, love.


End file.
